AN ELDERLY woman was killed in a fire which almost destroyed a bungalow in an Oxfordshire village.

Firefighters found her body today as they were picking their way through the wreckage of the bungalow in Sutton Wick Lane, Drayton, near Abingdon, following the fire last night.

The fire, which at its peak was tackled by about 40 firefighters, almost destroyed the home.

Neighbours said the bungalow belonged to Nigel and Joan Martin.

Mr Martin suffered severe burns to his feet and head in the blaze and was tonight detained at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, near Aylesbury.

The dead woman has not been named, but is believed to be Mrs Martin.

Neighbour Adrian Keen, 26, said: "There was a huge amount of smoke. The flames were absolutely huge - imagine bonfire night in South Park. It was a bit scary."

Incident commander John Lloyd said the blaze, which is not being treated as suspicious, tore through the semi-detached home at about 9.30pm.

Fire engines from Oxford, Didcot, Goring and Abingdon, as well as a specialist appliance from Woodstock, tackled the fire.

Neighbours said flames up to 30ft high had been darting out from the bungalow at the height of the blaze.

Julian Cook, 43, who lives nearby, said: "Nigel and Joan are good friends of ours. I look after their car for them. They are a lovely old couple - a bit eccentric - but nice people. They do not deserve it. It is just ever so sad."

Mr Keen said Mr Martin was brought to his home and treated in his bathroom by paramedics as the fire spread.

He said: "He could hold a conversation. He asked where his wife was and, at one point, I had to ask him how the firefighters could gain access to his property. He was coherent."

Mr Keen said the elderly couple, whose ages are not known, had hoarded items such as timber in their garden.

The fire crew also had to remove a pile of flowerpots, wood, timber and other items from the bungalow's drive to gain access to the house.

Mr Lloyd, group manager for the fire and rescue service, said: "It was a very serious fire. The bungalow has been virtually destroyed, but we have managed to keep it from getting into the neighbouring properties."

Station manager John Fathers said it had been very difficult to get the body out of the building and a slow process.

He explained crews had been concentrating on securing the structure of the building, which he said had been damaged by a "ferocious fire".

The woman's body was found at about 4.30pm. Police said a post-mortem examination would be carried out tomorrow.